Assignment 1: https://vimeo.com/698211252
Assignment 1 Reflection
The prompt for Assignment 1 was to create a short video on what the workplace of tomorrow might look like and identify growing technologies. Through my research on future the development of new technologies, I was able to identify that while they promise to enhance our current workplaces and make working life easier, they also come with a host of new dangers. For instance, will these new technologies replace real workers who rely on their job? Or will these new technologies be safe to use?Ultimately, bringing us to the question- what are we willing to sacrifice for the sake of advancing our workplaces?
For my assignment, I focused on the development of brain implants. Companies like Elon Musk’s, Neuralink, are designing brain implants to link the brain with technology, allowing you to control your electronic devices with a thought. This brain implant is designed to help relieve the symptoms of certain neurodegenerative diseases and illnesses. However, as we continue to develop this technology there is the possibility that it may eventually integrate into the lives and the workforce of the general population. My project focusing on the introduction of a brain implant named “Neurachip” in an office environment. The implant designed to improve typing and communication with coworkers, making it faster and easier. However, as a new technology, the risks of brain implants have not been fully explored but can include health problems, such as- seizures, strokes, headaches, blood clots, brain swelling or inflection, it can also include learning difficulties or memory loss, and there is also the potential risk of someone hacking into the brain chip. All these risks are serious and could possibly be fatal to the individual with the brain chip.
For this assignment I structured the video as an advertisement for the ‘Neurachip’ within an office setting. The advertisement is designed as a typical corporate advertisement of a product. A voiceover describing the benefits of the product with an actor demonstrating its use, with upbeat music playing in the background. However, at the end I made sure to list all the negative side-effects of the product. Modelling my advertisement for the brain implant after the advertisements that air for prescription medication (mostly in the US)- for example the Trulicity commercial or the Vyvanse commercial. The negative messaging at the ending creates a sinister undertone to the advertisement overall, making the positive and upbeat tone appear fake and artificial. Overall, highlighting the sacrifices that our society are willing to make for the sake of progress and advancement.
In terms of the execution of this assignment, I believe it was relatively successful but there is definitely room for improvement. The positive and upbeat tone was reflected predominately in the background music, and the bright blue logo for the Neurachip. In the process of editing this project, I also learnt how to create a hologram effect through Premiere Pro to create a hologram version of a computer screen and a phone screen. However, the audio for the voice-over in the final cut is not the best quality, coming through the microphone on my iPhone. In order to avoid this in the future, I am planning on investing in a better-quality microphone. Additionally, when filming I was limited to my small apartment which does not resemble an office space and as a result, all my shots came from my study desk. Therefore, the office-space environment that I was aiming for in the advertisement was limited.
Week 1-3 Reading Notes
Privacy Attitudes of Smart Speaker Users (Malkin et al. 2019), is a paper on the privacy risk to individuals that smart speakers pose. Through their research Malkin and colleagues discovered that smart speaker users were unaware of the policies surrounding their data storage, and they were opposed to the retention of their data from the smart speakers. This paper highlights the manipulative ways in which large smart speaker companies collect data from their users. The findings from this research paper, can be applied to future and newer forms of artificial technology. Although, in future technologies like a brain implant, there is a greater pool of information accessible, and the scope of privacy breaches are significantly higher than the data collected by smart speakers. Therefore, if the manipulation and deception of artificial intelligence companies that was identified in the research paper continues, data collection that users are unaware of and opposed to will likely worsen.
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Employment (Petropoulos, 2018) considers the impact that developing Artificial Intelligence technologies may have on employment in the future. Petropoulos outlines the two main ways that technological advancements can impact employment- through the displacement effect (workers lose their jobs) and the productivity effect (it creates more jobs). However, the rise of Artificial Intelligence is occurring on a larger scale than previous innovations, and the displacement effect is more likely than the productivity effect. Therefore, technologies like a brain implant which enhance ability rather than replacing workers may be necessary in order to reduce the displacement effect.
The Malicious Use of Artificial Intelligence: Forecasting, Prevention, and Mitigation (Brundage et al. 2018) is a paper that explores the threats that future Artificial Intelligence technologies pose and how those threats should be mitigated. In addition to the threats identified in the Malkin et al. (2019) reading and the Petropoulos (2018) reading, this paper explores how Artificial Intelligence can be used or compromised to create new dangerous threats and expand existing ones. Their research highlights a range of sinister uses of Artificial Intelligence, those that may be a targeted threat to the Artificial Intelligence, a brain implant includes a vulnerability to hackers and the threat of a privacy breach. In order to combat these threats- they propose that further research into the implications of Artificial Intelligence is necessary and, ethical standards and policy should be developed to manage the output and usage of Artificial Intelligence. Although these changes may reduce the threats associated with Artificial Intelligence, they are still in the research stage and have not been implemented yet.
Reference List
Brundage, M., Avin, S., Clark, J., Toner, H., Eckersley, P., Garfinkel, B., Dafoe, A., Scharre, P., Zeitzoff, T., Filar, B. and Anderson, H. (2018). The malicious use of artificial intelligence: Forecasting, prevention, and mitigation. arXiv preprint arXiv:1802.07228.
Malkin, N., Deatrick, J., Tong, A., Wijesekera, P., Egelman, S., & Wagner, D. (2019). Privacy attitudes of smart speaker users. Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies, 2019(4).
Petropoulos, G. (2018). The impact of artificial intelligence on employment. Praise for Work in the Digital Age, 119, 121.